This podcast is offered by the San Francisco Zen Center on the web at www.sfcc.org. Our public programs are made possible by donations from people like you. anxious, excited, welcomed, and so happy to see all of you here. Thank you so much for coming. I'm going to talk tonight about wind in the pines and the tree as teacher. But before I begin, there are a couple people I'd like to thank.

[01:02]

First, I'd like to thank the Tanto for inviting me tonight to speak. It feels like such a big honor. And I'd like to thank my teachers, Ed Satterzan and Linda Ruth Cutts. I also would like to introduce a guest that I invited tonight. She sits here next to me. She's a gravenstein branch apple tree. She can't speak, but she can be heard. So if tonight my words are dull, and you find yourself distracted, I invite you instead to listen to my friend.

[02:10]

I'd like to start with a quote from Dogen who helped me understand the relationship between Buddhism and nature. He said, snow is falling far and wide, each snowflake neither the same nor completely different from the other ones. Singing and dancing, they chase after each other. till the whole universe is made afresh with its new covering. As the snow even conceals the moon and clouds and puts out the flame in our hearth, all kinds of leaves and flowers respond differently to the cycles of the seasons, yet remain oblivious

[03:30]

to the cold of night or the chill of winter. So goes the preaching of the Dharma by the pines in the valleys and the bamboos on the mountains or the apple orchard. Having an invitation like this is such a wonderful opportunity and to explore what's resonating in one's heart, what's current that day, that week. And when I started to think about what I'd like to speak about, there were three things that came up that kind of gave me a clue. The first one is this rakasu. On the back of it is inscribed, pine trees will be green for a thousand years. When it was given to me by Huizu and he told me what it said, I didn't understand.

[04:38]

And tonight, I still don't understand. But I think that's okay. And I know now that it was a response that was made in the context of a certain koan. The second are these clackers. So when I was Chousseau at Green Gulch, it happened that the bell tower was being built at that time. And every day out my window, I could see this tower rising up. And there were two amazing carpenters, woodworkers, working on this bell tower every day, no matter what the weather was. And one of the woods that they used was this one, which is a yellow spruce. Very rare and unusual. And being the scavenger that I am, I would go out every day to talk to them. Sometimes I'd bring them tea. Sometimes we'd talk about wood.

[05:42]

And at one point I asked if they would help me make clackers. A set of three. One set of which I kept. The third... reason I came to the idea of talking about trees and the wind in the pines is that I'm a tea student. And one of the key phrases in studying tea is said that when the water heating in the kettle produces the sound of the wind in the pines, then you know the water is ready. We've all heard water boil. And usually we say, oh, the water's boiling. So what is that leap? What is that step of imagination where you can hear water boiling, but it sounds like something much more magical and mysterious?

[06:45]

It has to do, I think, as well with the idea of taking a sound, sound like I just made, or the sound of water boiling, and going beyond an intellectual grasp or just the words and letting yourself actually dip into what it feels like. Trees and their presence are all around us, outside the windows, on the street, in the courtyard. and tonight here in the Buddha Hall. There are also trees that are commented on in the history of Buddhism. In a case that talks about what is living meaning of Chan Buddhism, case 47, something that we study, the answer to that question is given as the oak tree or the cypress tree.

[07:53]

In America, it would be an oak tree. in the front garden. I think the key here is the living meaning, because this character is living. And by living, it changes, it is never the same, and it's very energetic and organic. Another place that trees occur in the history of the writing is the pebble hitting the bamboo. So when I think about that, when I think about the pebble hitting the bamboo, perhaps you've had that experience where, again, something sounds, but it actually connotes something else. I think the key, one of the keys about That particular story is the state of mind you have in order to hear that, in order to be awake, to actually be in the quietude of the mountains or the quietude of your mind, to actually denote the pebble hitting the bamboo.

[09:12]

It's said that the Japanese love to strike wood upon wood to create a hollow, haunting noise. We have this at Green Gulch with the fire watch when we walk at night and hit these very large clackers. And it's also done in the cities in Japan. And I'm told that the sign, the signifier of that sound, is that all is well. In addition to the clackers, we have the han, which you heard tonight, and the mukugyo that's sitting over here. These are all instruments made out of wood for a very particular reason. And when we hear them, we have a sense of what's going to happen or maybe what we should be doing.

[10:18]

But they all potentially have the potency of the pebble striking the bamboo. Besides those two stories of the oak tree and the pebble hitting the bamboo, there's another situation in which trees are really important in Buddhist history, and that is the Buddha himself. So key places in his life. When he was born, his mother was standing under a lush lumbini grove, holding onto the tree. When he was enlightened, he was sitting underneath the Bodhi tree. And lastly, at the end of life, he was reclining between two solid trees. And solid trees, if you ever get a chance to see them in Asia, are these beautiful, they look like bright pink open apple blossoms, and they're one of the most fragrant blooms in the world.

[11:28]

So why tree? Why tree? Why is a tree important in our practice? I like to think of the tree as a metaphor, as maybe... another kind of teacher, another kind of student, a representation of the Dharma. So there are certain qualities that trees have that I think are beautiful qualities and perhaps might also describe someone who's involved in their practice. It's said that trees are steady, observant beings. that they're excellent meditators. And that even the yew tree, which is one of the trees that grows to be the oldest, hollows out with age, empties. The active movements such as unfurling leaves or growing new shoots takes weeks or even months.

[12:40]

It seems to us as if they're standing still. that they're static, that they're only slightly more active than rocks. But that's an illusion. Just like when we sit zazen, we're not really still. Trees are among the slowest moving things in the world, and they're one of the most ancient things. organic things in the world. But a tree is not a forest. So in kanji, the symbol for a tree is one particular character, and if you want to write forest, you just write two of those characters next to each other, which I think is a really nice sensibility. In... In Suzuki Roshi's book, Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness, he talks a lot about plants and trees and leaves.

[13:45]

And he says this, which I'd like to share. So this is a comment he's making on a section of the Sandokai. And that section is, I incite... No, I don't want to read that right now. Sorry, I'm saving that for later. This is a comment that he made in this particular chapter. And what he said was, the Buddhist way is, in one word, jihi. Compassion. Jihi means to encourage people when they're feeling positive and also to help them get rid of their suffering.

[14:46]

That is true love. It is not just to give something or to receive something or to observe precepts that we practice our way. We practice our way with things as they naturally occur. Going with people, suffering with them, helping to relieve their suffering. and encouraging them to go on and on. As I read in some of my garden books and Japanese landscaping books and a book I just finished on how trees communicate, I realized that what he was describing was also the habit and behavior of a tree. Trees in a forest accommodate each other. They're not competitive. and they're only interested in helping each other, connecting and relating and communicating to the fellow trees in the forest. They talk with each other through their roots, and they help those who need nourishment or light, they warn of dangers, and they're aware of the other trees' sufferings.

[15:59]

Trees thrive best in a forest. in an ancient forest. Not a cultivated forest, but a forest that's been allowed to grow and develop on its own, in its own shape, its own way. But a forest where the trees care about each other. In the forest there's a dark world, and that dark world is the soil, which is full of nourishment and which makes the base for which these trees can grow and communicate. These lateral branches bend and twist and curve and the branches are parallel so that there's more nourishment for the other branches farther down the trunk and more nourishment for the trees that are smaller. It's said that in an ancient forest, if you walk deep into the forest, that there's a green light, a light that has been transmitted through the conifers and the leaves of the trees higher up, and that this green light has been proven to help us have a sense of calm and peace.

[17:28]

scientists have proven that if you walk in an ancient forest, you hear things you don't normally hear, you feel lighter, and you feel right at home. That's because there are fewer alarm calls that go out when you're walking in an ancient forest. Nothing much happens. It's said that a tree is not a forest on its own. A tree cannot establish a consistent local climate. It's at the mercy of wind and weather, but together many trees create an ecosystem that moderates extremes of heat and cold, stores a great deal of water, and generates a great deal of humidity.

[18:33]

And in this protected environment, trees can live to be very old and ancient. When I read that description, I thought of the Sangha and I thought about the natural habitat that we create here and how we support each other and what we do to do that, the effort that it takes, the focus. It's said that the most conducive place for a tree to grow is in its native habitat. That this is the place that the tree is happy to grow. Four main characteristics that describe native habitat. And I would ask you to think about what is your native habitat? What kind of setting, what kind of situation makes you happy to grow?

[19:37]

For a tree, the first is source of water. And I liken this to the idea of teaching. The second is terrain. For instance, a place or a temple. The third being topography, which could be diversity and resources in our community. And the fourth being local climate. A learning environment place where we are open to imagine and consider new ideas, new people, and learn together. Why is it that we like standing in a forest? What happens there that makes us want to go back again and again and again? In addition to talking about trees, I'd like to talk as well about the pruner.

[20:50]

The pruner, the person who clips and shapes, could be considered the teacher, could be considered the Sangha member or the good friend who gives you feedback or a facilitator. When I first started working with trees, I was terribly afraid of making a cut. I really didn't want to cut anything that the tree had made such a great effort to create. And I'd make little snips at the top here and there, which actually aren't very good for a tree, but somehow it appeased my dis-ease. But one day I was working with a gardener and she said, Marshall, you know, why don't you think of it this way? That... when you prune a tree, you're actually, it's just like giving someone a good haircut. That actually, by pruning a tree, done carefully, it's a way of supporting the tree's growth.

[21:58]

So if I wasn't sitting up here in my robes, I would demonstrate what I like to do when I teach someone to prune a tree, and that is just to go down, to lie underneath the tree. Just lay down under that shrub, that tree, that you're going to have a colleagueship with, that you're gonna work together. Why? Because when you lay underneath something that's growing up, you get a chance to see where the plant is going, what it's leaning towards, what's its natural sensibility, perhaps even what its true nature is. And you could say the same when you work with a teacher, that a teacher doesn't dominate, a teacher doesn't change your natural habitat or your natural sensibility or your inclination, but rather

[23:09]

works to bring on a proper balance, a proportion, to simplify the lines to reveal a true nature, to eliminate distractions, to rejuvenate, the teacher must know the habits of the tree just as the pruner does. Sometimes when I go into a garden, I'll see a tree that has been obviously pruned. And this is something that, in general, aesthetic pruners try not to have happen. Working on a tree, pruning it, shaping it, there should be no trace. There should be no evidence that someone has been there. If there is, then the cuts haven't been made properly.

[24:18]

When I was thinking about Linda Ruth being in the room tonight, I realized that it was a great example of no trace because she's here in my heart and she's had a great influence on me. but it's not necessarily obvious. It might not be the thing that jumps out about my form. I sometimes think that the way we learn skillful means here, the way we train, is a little like pruning in that it's somewhat invisible. usually not verbal, and it's not always obvious what you're supposed to be doing. But if you watch for the sincere practice for the nature of what's happening, if you're totally aware, then perhaps you'll understand and you'll learn.

[25:35]

A few years back, when we were renovating the front of this building, we tore down a chain-link fence. It was somewhat of a pirate act, but we did, and we spent several months cultivating the soil so that we could plant the four maple trees that are there now. And Paul Haller agreed to have a ceremony And we named those four trees the Four Noble Truths. So each tree buried underneath it has a plaque. And I often joke to say, well, which one is growing faster? Which one seems to be doing better? So I'll leave it up to you to take a look and see what you think. But it was a compromise for those trees. I was asked a few months after the trees went in, oh, they're going to get so big, they're going to cover the windows in the Buddha Hall.

[26:53]

We won't be able to reach them to prune them. But the fact is that those trees struggle. Why do they struggle? Because of all the pollution, because of the traffic, because of the constant source of light. Trees need to sleep at night. and all street trees right outside the door are never allowed to sleep. So they make a big effort to be green and to grow. I'd like to be like a tree. Maybe you would too. Again in the Sandokai, there's a section I'd like to read to you in which he's describing light and dark oppose one another like front and back foot in walking.

[27:59]

And I think what he's describing is an admirable quality that trees have and I'd like to think that we can as well. Readiness to be weak can be a sign of strength. Readiness to be weak can be a sign of strength. We say the willow tree cannot be broken by the snow. The weight of the snow may break a strong tree's branches, but with a willow, though the snow may bend or twist the branches, even a heavy snow, like the one we had last year, cannot break them. Bamboo also bends easily. It looks quite weak, but no snow can break it. So even though there might be a burden that we carry, or there might be something happening in our everyday life, if we have the capacity, the readiness to be weak, the readiness to be weak

[29:13]

as a sign of strength, then the snow or the dilemma or the issue might bend us, might influence us, but wouldn't necessarily break us. This morning when I went to buy this branch, I arrived at the flower market, and there's one broker there that has wonderful branches that he gathers from wild places. And I said, I need one branch. And he said, oh, they're all sold. And I said, oh, just one branch, please. That's all I need today. And I picked one off the pile, this one. And he said, all right. So I'm very happy that she's here tonight and that she's traveled quite a ways to get here.

[30:17]

I think that if you look at her shape and you listen to her, you see some of the things I've been talking about. A sense of proportion, a sense of balance, a certain kind of beauty, a reaching for the light, and these beautiful, delicate flowers that the bees are longing to visit. So I invite you tonight, after this talk is over, to walk out into the courtyard, to stand under a tree, or to visit a tree that's in the courtyard or in the side courtyard where we have fruit trees. To see what happens, to see what you hear.

[31:19]

Or if not tonight, then maybe tomorrow morning on your way as you walk to work or to the Zendo or wherever it is that you go in the morning. To listen for the pebble. to smell the fragrance, to hear the wind in the pines. What is it? There's one last section I'd like to read to you from the Sandokai. It goes like this. Eye and sight, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, thus for each and everything.

[32:25]

Depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth. Trunk and branches share the essence. Revered and common, each has its speech. Eye and sight, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste. Thus, for each and every thing, depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth. Trunk and branches share the essence. Revered and common, each has its speech. I think that's what I'd like to share tonight. Nothing else on the tip of my tongue.

[33:27]

I want to thank you for your attention, for listening, for perhaps considering some of the ideas in the talk tonight. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to this podcast offered by the San Francisco Zen Center. Our Dharma talks are offered at no cost and this is made possible by the donations we receive. Your financial support helps us to continue to offer the Dharma. For more information, visit sfcc.org and click giving. May we fully enjoy the Dharma.

[34:12]

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